Discovery
by mangaluver34
Summary: Mello and Near attend a normal school along with Wammy's House. But what happens when a video-game-obsessed boy follows them to the secret orphanage? Slight AU. Please review!
1. A Typical School Day

Discovery

"Oh yeah!! In your FACE!! We kicked your wimpy butts once again, losers!" I yelled in triumph.

"Mello, would you keep it down please? And what's the number on rule in this gym?" The teacher called out to me.

"You've been teaching here long enough, you should know it." I snapped.

"You should know it too."

"I do." Man, didn't he get it?

"Then say it."

"Why?" That stupid gym teacher was getting on my nerves.

"Because you're not following it."

"Well, I can know a rule and not follow it."

"Mello, just say it." He rubbed his temples. Cool. I was giving him a headache. "How hard is it?"

"Not very." I was beginning to enjoy this game.

"Just say the rule, Mello."

Now he was really ticked. I smirked and shouted, "Hey sissies! You guys didn't have 'good sportsmanship!'" Then, turning back to the teacher, I said, "There, I said it."

"Shorten it to just the one rule, Mello."

"Make me, buttwipe."

And just like that, I was in the principal's office yet again.

What is wrong with the educational system anyway? They let a kid like Near breeze through school like he's the friggin' king or something, and I sit in the office every day because I stand up for myself.

I want to be number one.

Is that so bad?

According to all of my teachers it is.

"What are you doing here, Mihael?" A voice asked. I didn't need to look up to know whom it belonged to. Not only was that the voice that speaks up with the right answer every freaking day in class, it was also the only voice that dared to say my real name aloud.

"What do you think I'm doing here, genius?"

"In trouble again?"

"No duh." I paused. "Wait. Why are you here, Near?"

"Oh! I'm delivering a message from my teacher. And don't be afraid to call me by name. No one outside would know me as Near anyway. Just the kids from…where we come from." Near said, smiling.

"Fine, Nate. I will call you by your name until otherwise instructed. Would you like me to shine your shoes and give you a haircut too?"

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"What was your first clue?"

"Alright." He walked away with the stupid papers and handed them to the secretary. He turned and left with a small smile in my direction and a "Bye, Mihael."

When the little twerp was gone, I pulled out a book to read while waiting for the teacher. He would be late again. I knew it.

After 15 minutes of waiting (I was right) and 7 minutes of scolding and arguing, I left the office and went to lunch. I sat in the darkest corner of the cafeteria I could find. I was uncomfortably close to this guy Matt, but he was deeply involved in his Gameboy, so he didn't even notice me.

Matt was smart enough, he was just a slacker. I heard that his family was rolling in cash but his parents were workaholics. He didn't really have much of a life at home, but he was an alright guy once you got used to him. Which, unfortunately, I hadn't done yet. I was kind of busy, to say the least.

You see, when I was twelve years old, my parents died in a fire in their workplace. I lived on the streets for a couple months until L found me. He had offered me sweets (especially chocolate) when I was hungry and gave me a warm bed in a deluxe hotel and a roof over my head. He analyzed me completely before offering me the chance of a lifetime. Wammy's House.

I was uncertain about the offer at first, but he eventually convinced me to at least try it out. (After all, how can you refuse someone who has shown you such generosity?) I went and really loved it. I was the best there. At least until Near showed up. He ruined my winning streak. And when we recently decided to join a couple of other kids in attending a public school along with our training at the orphanage, he topped the class there too. I hated him. And to this day, I still hate him.

Near.

Nate River.

Whatever you want to call him, I hate him.

I was thinking of that brat when the bell rang and signaled the end of lunch. I got up and left, not bothering to clean up the chocolate wrappers behind me.

The rest of the day was a bore. I perfected twelve twenty-paragraph-long essays in five minutes. Nothing special.

At the end of the day, I went to join the other Wammy's house kids in front of the school. We started to the orphanage without a word between us.

If I weren't so zoned out, it would have been quiet enough to hear the beeping of a Gameboy behind us.


	2. What Goes Bump In the Afternoon

AN: Thanks for reading my story!!! This is my first fanfic, so I really want reviews, good or bad!!! So, without further ado, I give you chapter 2. Enjoy! (Oh, and, unfortunately, I don't own Death Note.)

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To be clear, Wammy's House is mostly a secret. I say "mostly" because it's not a secret that it's there, just that it's a training facility for child geniuses to become the next L. It's only for orphans, as well.

If word got out what Wammy's House really is, we would be pretty much doomed. So would the title of L. If and when he dies, if Wammy's House had been busted and discovered, there would be no successor to L's name. Which would be really bad.

So it's a pretty big secret to keep. If anyone had given it away, they'd be severely punished in ways you can't even imagine. Again, that would suck.

But this isn't about the rules and regulations at Wammy's House. This is about that one day that almost killed many people.

Shall we return to the story?

We reached the orphanage and began the security system check. We went through metal detectors and rental scanners, fingerprint analyzers, and various other checkpoints.

Our security system is top-notch. There is only one fault. It cannot count the number of people entering.

So say, for example, someone was to follow us into the building. If he followed closely and quickly, he could get in without any alarms going off. That would not be good for us, to say the least.

Anyway, we were tired and not very on edge, so we weren't exactly looking for anyone to break in.

When we were through security, we all collapsed onto various beds and couches and fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was more alert than I was earlier. For example, I caught the figure sliding out of view and into my closet. And even for kids in Wammy's House, that's not normal behavior. I sprang from the bed and sprinted after the shape. I tore open the closet door and pulled out…

"Matt?"

"Heh heh…hi, Mello. Umm…I was just stopping by…and, uhh…" He smiled sheepishly. I grabbed the goggles over his eyes and snapped them back to his face.

"Ow! Jeez, what was that for?"

"You followed us!?"

"Well, kind of…"

I was about to kill that kid. Honestly, I was going to whoop him until you couldn't recognize him. But I had one more question, the one that seemed most important.

"Why'd you even follow us?"

"What can I say? I was really bored. You know I don't have anything to look forward to at home, and I never knew what you guys were up to. It seemed so mysterious. I wanted something to do, that was all…"

"How much did you see?" I prayed he hadn't seen anything.

"That depends on how much there is to see."

I could have really hurt him right then and there. I wanted to. But I didn't. Instead, I grabbed some of Near's belts, (Yes, Near is my roommate. Not by choice, though,) and tied Matt up until he couldn't move.

"Stay here." I commanded. And to remind him of the pain I could inflict if he didn't, I wailed on his stomach for about ten seconds. I felt better as I stood up.

"Where…could…I…go?" He gasped. "You…have…me…tied…up."

I had forgotten that most kids hadn't learned advanced escape techniques in first grade. Whoops. Before I could slip up again, I left the room. And who should I run into in the hallway but Near. However, this time I was the slightest bit pleased he was there.

"We have a problem." I said, "A deadly problem."


	3. Interrogation

AN: Hi. First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's staying with my story all the way until chapter 3. It won't be too much longer. I'm running out of ideas on this story. Although I'm writing more in the future, if you want something to happen in this particular story, tell me and I promise I'll do it.

Secondly, I'd like to explain what Mello means by "deadly". He means that L's title would die, and Wammy's House would cease to exist. Plus, lots of students at Wammy's House believe that there would be political, religious, and lots of other types of groups that would try to kill them. That's what he means.

The only other thing I have to say is: review. I can't stress that enough!! I really want to be able to improve.

Guess what I don't own? Death Note!!

Here's the third chapter:

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"Deadly? Wow, Mihael. How much trouble are you into now?" Near asked, smirking. I was outraged. Of all the times for him to start making jokes, it had to be now…

"It's actually your fault. You brought up the rear on the way here. You should have noticed." I couldn't help but point his every mistake.

That got his attention. I knew he had realized what the problem was. "Is someone here?" He whispered. I nodded.

"He's tied up in our room and I beat him pretty senseless, but I'm still worried…" I looked over my shoulder.

"I understand. You have better physical skills than me. You guard him, I'll go get Roger."

I didn't feel like arguing. Besides, I'd love the excuse to pound Matt a little more. "Yeah, sure. Whatever." I pretended to be indifferent.

Near turned to leave. He ran a few steps, then suddenly stopped and turned on his heel. "Mihael…"

"Huh?" Had he sensed something in my voice?

"Is it someone we would know?"

Dang. I had hoped he wouldn't ask.

"Yeah. It's…Matt."

"Oh! That freak who's always playing the Gameboy?" He asked. I hesitated. Was it really right for a kid at Wammy's House to be calling somebody a freak?

This wasn't the time for that. "Yeah, him. His parents are filthy rich so he'll be noticed missing, but we can't let him go blab, so…" I couldn't bring myself to say what might happen. Either death or lifetime imprisonment, neither of which is very fun.

"Oh, no," Near said, waving the very thought away, "There are many less extreme measures we could take. I have several ideas. But half of them won't work if we don't get a diagnosis of the situation quickly." With that, he started toward Roger's office.

I swaggered back into my room, finding Matt still on the floor, coughing and gasping. I had hurt him worse that I thought.

Awesome.

I looked at him, not pitying him in the slightest.

"We have more people coming. Be ready to talk."

"About what?" He asked, "I don't see…what I did…wrong!" He was still gasping for breath between words. "I…just followed you…here! Since when…is that…illegal?"

"Since you got Wammy's House involved."

He still looked confused, but I didn't have time to worry, because Near and Roger had just shown up. Roger walked directly up to Matt, analyzing every last detail of the situation. Finally, he spoke.

"Well, what have we here?" Roger asked calmly, "Playing kidnapper? Aren't you kind of old for that? Wait, I'm sorry, but I don't seem to recall your name. Are you new here?"

What? Near should have told Roger of him being an intruder. I eyed Near, silently asking what was going on. With his lips barely moving, he mouthed, "Testing a new interrogation technique. Supposedly quite effective."

I rolled my eyes. This was serious! It was not a time for tests! We needed him gone without any questions.

But of course, Roger went blabbering on.

"Come on, I'm sorry I can't remember it. It's no big deal, just tell me your name."

Matt seemed hesitant at first, but then he said a single word.

"Mail."

What the heck?? What did he mean? What did he want us to do? Go check his mailbox?

Oh! Duh. I just got it.

"What kind of crappy name is Mail? Or are you lying?" I kicked him. "Answer. Now."

Roger looked worried. I was ruining his precious "interrogation technique." I didn't care. But he wasn't the only one who looked worried. Matt was downright terrified.

"It's my real name!! You can look at my birth certificate or anything! I swear it's true!! I just don't like being called 'Mail' is all. That's why I go by 'Matt.'" He was desperate.

Roger stepped in at that point. "That's a fine reason. Makes perfect sense. No problem. Now, Mail. Oh wait, sorry. Matt. Are you uncomfortable? Those restraints must be a little painful."

Matt nodded. Roger untied him and sat him down in my favorite armchair. He looked Matt over, evaluating him. I almost saw the gears turning, figuring out what to do. All at once, he got an idea.

"I'm so sorry, Matt, but could you excuse us for a moment? I have something to tell Mello and Near…umm, I mean Nate. Just wait there, and we'll go get you a ride home." He nodded to the rain that had just started in buckets.

Matt was becoming more relaxed around Roger, and the mention of a ride home made him calm. He knew his personal hell (which, I admit, had been caused by me,) would be done soon. He nodded and closed his eyes, sitting back in the chair.

"Alright. I'll be right back." Roger said soothingly. We stepped into the hall.

"What the heck was that?" I started in a harsh whisper.

Roger, like always, replied calmly. "You wound him up, Mello. He was scared. That didn't help. I had to relax him."

"What? How does catching the brat not help? He could be running around the orphanage right now, seeing absolutley everything, if it wasn't for me!"

"I think what Roger means is that you've added an extra step to getting this solved." Near said, "But it doesn't really matter. I have a really easy solution to this problem."

Uh oh. Crap.

He had beaten me to the answer. Again.

But maybe I had a chance. Maybe his plan really sucked or something.

"Yeah? Tell me." I taunted.

"Well, all we have to do is to kill him."

"I thought we were going to take a 'less extreme' measure!" I hissed.

"Oh, the boy in that room isn't going to die, just Matt, or as we now know, Mail."

"Huh?"

For the first time in my life, Near had lost me.


	4. Waiting

AN: Sorry it's been a couple of days, but I've been sick and I guess my brain broke because I couldn't write for crap!! But I'm feeling better now, so I'm gonna give this a shot. Don't hate me if it sucks.

There's only going to be 1 or 2 chapters after this one in this story. I know it's really short. I'm planning a D. Gray Man one next, then probably back to Death Note…

Do you people really think that if I owned Death Note, I would be spending my valuable time writing fan fictions about it?

Chapter 4:

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"Well, it's quite simple, really…" Near began. He explained his plan. And as much as it pains me to say it, it was a perfect plan.

You think I'm gonna tell you the plan, don't you?

No way. You'll just have to figure it out on your own.

Anyway, we all agreed that that was the best shot we had of fixing this (even though it was Near's plan). We went back into the room, all business, and told Matt what our situation was (but only enough for him to understand the basics of what was going on. You know, not telling him about what we do at Wammy's House) and how no one could find out about Wammy's House. He swore on his life not to tell a soul. I noticed he was looking directly at me when he said that.

"I know that. I do trust you," Roger said, "But I'm afraid that's not good enough. Look, we have a plan. It's going to really change your life a bit but we think this is the best plan for all involved." He explained the plan, Matt's eyes growing larger by the millisecond, until he was all done.

It seemed to take him a second to find his voice. When he did, the first phrase out of his mouth was, "But…that's crazy!"

"It's what we have to do." Said Roger, "All the arrangements should be set up within a matter of days. In the meantime, you will have Mello accompanying you wherever you go, twenty-four seven, just to be on the safe side. We don't want you to slip up, do we?" Matt shook his head. Roger then turned so he could talk to Matt and me at the same time. "Mello, you will pose as Matt's school friend who he's invited to sleep over for a couple of days. You two will pretend to be…oh, what's the phrase…oh yes, 'hanging out' while what is really happening is that Mello is surveilling you. No, let me put it in better terms. Mello will be guarding you, okay?" Matt nodded. Roger looked to me. "You alright with that, Mello?" I nodded, smiling. That little brat wasn't going to be able to put a toenail out of line with me guarding him.

Roger went with Matt to go get one of our most inconspicuous cars to drive us to his place. Meanwhile, I found an overnight bag and started packing my clothes, books, and toothbrush into it. Near sat on his bed, watching me. I kept trying to hint that he was creeping me out, but he didn't catch the hint so eventually I had to scream "STOP STARING AT ME!!!!" That got his gaze averted.

Anyway, after ten minutes, we were pulling through the gates in front of the Jeevas mansion. (No way! Matt was a _Jeevas_? They were the richest family in the county!! I mean, I knew he was loaded, but still…wow…A Jeevas…)

A servant in a fancy tux opened the giant front door for us, while others were removing our coats, handing us snacks and drinks, taking my luggage, and offering us every assistance humanly possible. As soon as he could break through the swarm of hired help, Matt waved them away. And just like that, they were gone.

Without a word, he timidly pointed out a giant spiral staircase to our right. "You first," I said. I wasn't about to let him walk behind me. That was careless mistake number one.

He obeyed and led me to a bedroom the size of a basketball court. I didn't stare. (Much.)

I found all my stuff on a surprisingly comfy fold out couch. I sat down on it and pulled Matt next to me. "Look, you can't keep up the 'scared boy' look all the time. Someone's gonna notice and connect me to this. The last thing I need is attention at this point. Got that?" Matt nodded, still looking meek. "Then do what I just told you to do!" I snapped. Immediately he straightened up and fixed his expression. "Good."

We spent 3 days hanging out around his mansion. He didn't screw up, so I didn't have to beat him at all. Actually, we seemed to grow more comfortable around one another. He'd show me his private library stacked with thousands of books, and we'd spend hours reading. He'd also show me some great tricks to play on the servants and the best hiding spots to make it look like his sister did it. I guess you'd say I had fun.

But don't think I forgot why I was there. No, I was always on edge and alert, ready to jump at the slightest noise. Finally, on the third night, I got the phone call we'd been waiting for.

At ten o' clock sharp, Matt's private landline rang. I picked it up. (I had to answer all of his calls.)

"Hello?"

"We're ready," Roger's voice replied, "We can do it tomorrow." He hung up. I followed.

"Well? What was that?" Matt asked. He was kinda unaccustomed to not answering his own calls.

"It's all set," I replied, "It will be put into action tomorrow."

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AN: I know that was really short, but my brain is still tired and I'm getting nowhere. This is pretty much all fillers before the next chapter when the plan gets put into place. The next chapter will be much better. I promise. Don't forget to R&R. Chapter 5 should be up within the next couple of days.


	5. Matt's Death

AN: Well, I decided to hurry up and get this chapter up so I can end the suspense for all of you. This is the second-to-last chapter. I'm sorry this story is so short, but it's got to end eventually.

If I owned Death Note, umm…certain characters…wouldn't have died. (How's that for avoiding spoilers?) If you've read all the books, you'll know who I'm talking about.

I will just shut up now and give you chapter 5. Enjoy!!

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We spent that third night in preparation. We packed for the first hour or so, then started calling all of the Jeevas family's friends and told them to come to a party the next day. They all agreed and soon we had a guest list of over one hundred and fifty people. Then, obviously, the next step was to make all the servants stay up and decorate for said party. We didn't get to sleep until around 3:45 am.

We woke up way too early the next morning (at eight o' clock). But we had more preparations to make. We had to call Wammy's House to make sure the plan was still in place. (Don't worry, it was.) Then I had to train Matt in everything he'd need to do later that day, and then he had to fit me into some ungodly uncomfortable tux.

Finally, at 3 pm on the dot, the first guests arrived. They kept filling up the mansion until 4. At that time, we went searching for Roger and Near, who were also supposed to be attending.

But while we looked for what seemed like forever, we couldn't find them. This really worried me. We couldn't put this into place without them!

Matt and I decided to split up. I was searching the ballroom again when I felt a delicate tap on my shoulder. I spun around, ready to attack.

"Calm down. It's me." Near said quietly. He was decked out in a tuxedo, just like me. Oh duh. I had been searching for his usual attire. I had forgotten about his needing to blend into the giant crowd.

"We set?" I asked.

"Not yet," said Near, "Let's let them get more comfortable before the plan goes into action. Oh, and his parents?"

"Business trip." I answered. That convenient fact really worked in our favor. You'll understand why later.

"Okay." We split up, not wanting people to notice us together.

I found Matt and we spent a couple of hours chatting with rich people. Finally, we got the signal from Near. I saw Roger in the corner of the room we were in (the dining room), nodding. I whispered to Matt, "Are you ready for this?" He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

We casually strolled over to the hors d'ouvres table and found the easiest thing possible to swallow whole. When we were sure no more than 5 people were watching, Matt popped the gourmet food into his mouth.

The next part was entirely part of the plan. Matt started gagging and coughing, his face turning blue. Near, being the actor that every kid at Wammy's House is, started yelling "Oh my god!! He's choking!! He's choking!" over and over. Roger ran over and pretended to attempt the Heimlich. Matt collapsed, "losing consciousness." We all crowded around, trying to "help" in some way, until the boy stopped breathing. Roger had stated earlier that he was a doctor (for all I know, he could be.) so he began checking for a pulse and all that jazz.

"He's dead." Roger lied, a grim look on his face. He could fib pretty smoothly, I noticed.

We called a special ambulance (one controlled by Wammy's House) to come and pick him up.

The worst part of all of this was that I had to cry. He was supposedly my best friend, after all. I hated crying. It was so childlike. I never cried.

Roger and I climbed into the ambulance behind Matt (who was now covered in a bed sheet worth thousands of dollars) and closed the door. Then Near ran after us with all of my bags. (He'd slipped Matt's bag that he'd packed earlier into the pile, but nobody noticed. They had just seen a boy die, for Christ's sake! Of course they didn't notice.) Anyway, Near came after us and climbed aboard too.

As soon as we were a couple of miles down the road from the Jeevas mansion, we allowed Matt to sit up.

"That was great," Roger said, "I could barely see you breathing through your nose. I'm sure no one else noticed."

"Yeah," Near added, "The holding your breath long enough to turn blue was pretty cool."

"I taught him that." I quickly said. No way was I losing any credit.

"And you taught him well." Near said tolerantly.

"So, Matt…" Roger said.

"Yeah?"

Roger smiled. "Welcome to Wammy's House."

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AN: How's that for a climax? I thought this turned out pretty well…But it's not my opinion that matters! It's YOURS!! As the reader, it is your civic duty (or something like that) to review this chapter!! If you review anything in any of my stories ever at all, it should be this chapter. I really want to know how I did.

Chapter 6 should be up really soon. (Within a couple of days.) Until then, see ya. I've got a date with a slice of chocolate cake!


	6. The Rest of My Life

AN: Here it is, the final chapter!! I'm both really sad and relieved that this is it! Oh, and I hate to do this to all you people who haven't read the whole series, but if you haven't, (read all the books, I mean,) you can't read this chapter unless you want major spoilers. Sorry! Can't be helped if I want this chapter to go anywhere.

Thanks to everyone who read my story (both friends who I've forced to read this and complete strangers)!! Thanks for putting up with my long Author's Notes!

I just found out today that a good idea I had for a D. Gray Man fanfic has already been used several times over, so I am gonna have to figure out a new story, which might take a while. But you will see me again!! Bwahahaha!! (If I can't think of a good plot within a week, I'm writing another Death Note story. Possibly a oneshot or something. Just something so no one forgets about me.)

Death Note is just one of the many things that I wish I owned but don't.

You probably just want me to shut up, don't you? Yeah, sorry. I'll do that.

The sixth and final chapter is as follows:

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There is one part of the plan that you don't know about. One part I'm gonna tell you about.

Matt was then tested, and surprisingly, his entrance scores surpassed all the others (excluding Near and myself) ever submitted to Wammy's House. Obviously, we didn't hesitate to bring him into the orphanage.

Every rule has at least one exception. I cannot think of one that doesn't. And the same goes for the rules at Wammy's House. Every rule has at least one student as an exception. For example, Matt is the exception to the "orphans only" rule. It's as simple as that.

Well, the first thing Matt needed was a room. And since we already had everyone perfectly divided into pairs, two roommates would have to agree to accept him. I jumped at the chance at having someone relatively normal in the room and by some random twist of fate, he wound up as our roommate.

He also ended up as my best friend, (even if all he did was play video games,) and "partner," so to speak. Obviously, as he was now legally dead in ten states, he didn't return to school, but we hung out all the time around the orphanage. He even helped me do bad things and blame them on Near. (Even if the staff sees through it every time, it's still always worth a shot.) He was ranked third in the orphanage, too. We had a great time together.

One day many years later, Roger took Near and me into his office and explained that the police might have found a lead pointing to a mass-murderer of criminals. L was to begin following this case, and it was supposedly quite dangerous. He explained that as L's successors, he (L, I mean,) was going to pick one of us to follow this case and adopt the title of L if his life was to end during this case.

Then, as the Kira case went public and began to wear on, Matt and I started following it together as a project, our goal not our grade, but to beat Near at his investigation. The project was to gather as much evidence as possible that could possibly point out a slip up to Kira's identity, however small.

We found 32 mistakes made by Kira.

Near found 34.

Don't ask why his wrist was in a splint the next day.

Anyway, that was our main focus for many years, before the unthinkable happened.

Roger's office, terrible news, and what ended up in being my last few minutes at Wammy's House.

I worked with the Mafia, trying to catch Kira before Near and his wimpy little "SPK" could even make a move. I succeeded in finding the Death Note and taking it for myself, but then it was unfairly stolen back.

At least the jerk that did it died.

After that, the Mafia didn't really care for me anymore, so they kicked me off their team. I was alone for a couple weeks before that phone call.

It was another rainy night. I didn't know how much more of this I could take. Moving from hotel to hotel, investigating 24/7, and trying to keep track of Near's progress. It was all so exhausting. How had the original L done it?

_I laid back in the bed that wasn't mine, but I paid for nonetheless, and unwrapped a chocolate bar. Ugh, I was so hungry. Hungry and tired and bored and-_

_BBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNIGGGGGG!!!!!!!!_

_I picked up the stupid hotel phone, just to shut it up._

"_I don't want whatever it is you're selling. Never call this number again."_

"_Well, it seems we haven't changed, have we, Mello?" The familiar voice said on the other end of the line._

"_MATT?" I screamed._

_I ignored the angry knocks on my wall. I hadn't heard from my best friend in so long._

"_Yeah. I heard about your luck with the Mafia and all that. Tough break."_

"_You know about that?"_

"_Sure I do. You think you can just leave Wammy's House and not have tabs kept on you? The online security system is so weak it's scary." We both had a good laugh at this. We both knew Matt was an expert hacker who could cut any firewall down the middle like it was virtual butter._

"_Wow, it's so great to hear from you." The friendly sentence that had escaped my lips surprised even me. I wasn't used to friendly conversations and kindness, especially not recently, what with teaming up with the Mafia and all._

"_I'm really bored without you around here, Mel. I might just need to sneak into another top-secret facility. We both know how great that worked out last time I tried it." We laughed together, remembering how we had met. It had been so long ago…_

"_Hey Mello."_

"_What's up?"_

"_Do you need help? I'm so bored I could kill myself, and you're alone right now, so…"_

"_Meet me at the LA Airport in three days," I said without thinking._

"_Sweet! Thanks, man. I would've sworn you were gonna say no."_

"_Of course not."_

"_So, see you in three days then."_

"_See ya."_

_We hung up at the exact same instant._

_And just like that, I had my partner for the Kira case._

Then, the worst night. Hal Lidner had called me as usual, and spoke to me about the case. Suddenly, I had a plan. We spoke for only seconds more before we hung up. I now knew how Matt had felt before that party.

A few days later, I had put my plan into place. I was driving with my hostage in the back of the van, watching the news, when I saw a familiar car. It was the one Matt had been driving. It was covered in bullets and blood.

Matt was gone.

My best friend.

My comrade.

My only good friend.

Was gone.

At that point, I wanted to scream, "Just kill me! I don't care, as long as Kira dies too! KILL ME!"

My wish had been granted.

I watched silently from a world of nothingness, staring at Light Yagami, Kira, suffering his last few minutes. I listened intently as I heard the words I had always wanted Near to say.

"This is all thanks to Mello."

I felt Matt sit next to me, invisible, but I knew he was there.

Matt had been the one to almost ruin my life.

And now, here he was, next to me in the height of my…existence.

None of this would have happened without his discovery.

I thank him.

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AN: Wow, I didn't expect this to become so dark!! But I refuse to change it. I like how it turned out.

Did you like it? Tell me. Review.

Well, I just killed all hope of a sequel by writing that chapter, so I hope you enjoyed this world! See you again in another one!

(mangaluver34 would like to thank their best friends, H, E, and C, for not telling me I suck, helping give me ideas, and for actually reading my story. At least I think you did. You could have been lying, I guess…)

And now for the words I've wanted to write for such a long time:

THE END 


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